The Girl Who Hid | George Weasley

ch 35 : thelma

As everyone gathered to eat that evening, you and George sat beside one another, scooting your chairs close. You held hands with him underneath the table while you ate, the two of you grinning at one another the entire time.

When George leaned over to whisper a joke into your ear, you had to put your hand over your mouth to hold back your laughter in the somewhat solemn room.

When George had leaned close to you the first time, you hadn't noticed the eyes that had begun to curiously watch the two of you.

Molly grinned at the couple, delighted that they had finally gotten together after so many years. After all the letters from George asking for advice about you, Molly was pleased to see that her son had finally figured it out and taken the leap to show how much he cared for you.

Arthur noticed your playful, happy spirit as well. His eyes drifted over to the other members of the order and smugly smiled over his cup of tea, finding amusement in watching their live reactions.

Lupin raised his eyebrows as he began to closely watch your interactions with a sort of horror.

Meanwhile, Sirius stared hard at the back of George's head whenever George whispered something in your ear. Thelma had shot Sirius a look that told him to calm down, but it was too late. Sirius continued to watch you and George with a hardened gaze and a set jaw.

As Harry began to ask questions about what was going on and the members of the order shut him down, you felt a little tense. George noticed the way your smile seemed a bit stiffer, so he began to rub circles into the back of your hand. He felt a sense of accomplishment as your shoulders sunk lower with the reminder of his presence beside you. You gave him a grateful smile.

As the serious conversation carried on about Voldemort's return and the building of Voldemort's army, George quietly dragged your chair closer and pulled you against his chest. You smiled gently as you continued to face Sirius and listen to him tell them about Voldemort's hunt for recruits.

Sirius, however, stopped for nearly a full second at these actions and only resumed when Thelma nudged him with her foot. Sirius kept looking at you and George throughout the conversation, but you would just beam even brighter whenever he looked at you, simply happy to be back in the presence of your loved ones.

When more neutral conversations began to occur again, you leaned your head back and whispered to George, "I brought this interesting muggle game I saw at the store. It's muggle candy, and some of them taste horrible while others taste sweet. When I saw it, it reminded me of you. Maybe you and Fred would play it with me later?"

George chuckled and nodded, murmuring right in your ear, "Yes. We can try that later."

George whispering so close to your ear tickled, and you giggled at this, which brought on the attention of several of the adults at the table. Lupin and Sirius were flickering their gaze between you and George rapidly with serious expressions. Thelma tilted her head and looked at you and George with a thoughtful expression. Tonks looked vaguely disturbed at the noise while Molly and Arthur both grinned at you, being reminded of themselves at your and George's ages.

You noticed everyone's attention, widened your eyes, and muttered, "Oh, sorry."

Thelma stood and began to grab dishes to clean, so you squeezed George's hand before standing up and offering your help. Thelma smiled at you and nodded to accept your assistance. You began to happily grab dishes off the table, thrilled to have the chance to get to know Thelma. You felt instantly drawn to Thelma as you noticed a calm confidence radiating from her.

You shot a last beaming smile at George who smiled back at you just as warmly. Fred and George left the room as you and Thelma headed into the kitchen, which was a great decision unbeknownst to them. Neither Weasley twin had noticed the way Sirius and Lupin were eyeing George Weasley, the twins climbing the stairs two at a time as they had already begun to plan their next pranks with knowing glances and mischievous smiles.

You and Thelma carried the dishes to the sink, enjoying the privacy of the kitchen space. You turned to Thelma and chirped, "Hi! I know we kinda met earlier when I first got here, but I'm Y/N Potter. The one with the round glasses in there is my twin brother, Harry. I'm assuming you're Thelma? The one who's been helping Sirius write to us this summer?"

Thelma rolled up her sleeves before nodding at you. Thelma's cool smile graced her face as she watched you light up with this knowledge. Before Thelma could even say a word, you began rambling, "Oh, it's so lovely to meet you! I tried to imagine what you looked like when I read those letters you wrote for Sirius, but you are far more beautiful than I could have imagined. Did you know that Sirius is Harry and I's godfather? Of course, you know that since you're together. You're together, aren't you? Of course, you are. I've never seen Sirius look at anyone the way he looks at you. It makes sense since you seem so lovely. Oh, I'm sorry, I'm rambling, aren't I?"

Blinking her eyes at the your enthusiasm, a small laugh bubbled out. As she began to vigorously scrub at the dishes, Thelma remarked, "You seem quite happy to be here."

You beamed as you lined up next to Thelma and began to dry the cleaned dishes. "Yes, I am. I'm so happy to be around my loved ones again. I mean, I always have Harry, but it's just so nice to see my friends and family again, even if Harry and I have come on unhappy terms."

A few moments later, Thelma was attacking a particularly troubling pot as she gingerly commented, "You didn't seem uncomfortable at the thought of me being with Sirius earlier." Thelma's eyes carefully considered your facial expressions and body movements after this comment.

You turned to Thelma, unbothered about the water dripping from a plate onto your feet, and chirped, "Of course not! He looks much healthier and calmer since I saw him last."

Smiling at you, Thelma chuckled, "Well...I'm glad to know you aren't uncomfortable by that."

You just beamed at her as you resumed drying the plate you had been holding.

After a moment of comfortable silence, Thelma wondered, "How long have you been dating that boy?" She gently tilted her head in the direction of the dining room.

You flickered your eyes up to Thelma and chirped, "Oh, George? Since January, after the Yule Ball. We haven't seen each other all summer — my aunt and uncle don't allow us to visit friends."

Thelma nodded, noticing the beaming smile that took over your face when George was mentioned. She mused, "It seems like the two of you are close."

"Yeah! George and I were friends long before we began dating. He was incredibly supportive in the days that followed the death of one of my best friends a couple months ago." You stood on your tiptoes as you clumsily put a mixing bowl up in its home on a high shelf.

Thelma paused her scrubbing and sighed, "I'm so sorry to hear that, Y/N."

"It's not your fault. I don't know how much you know about the wizarding world since you're a muggle, right? But You-Know-Who is back, and he killed my friend when he tried to stand up for my brother," You explained as you wiped some counters clean. You turned to Thelma as you took a deep breath and tried to give a convincing smile.

You may not be perfectly okay still, but you were getting there, and you knew that being surrounded by people who cared about you here could only help with that.

You dried the last dish Thelma gave you. Thelma dried her hands on the towel as you spoke. You hummed, "Thanks for chatting with me, Thelma. I hope we can talk more."

Thelma softly smiled and agreed, "Yes. I would like that, Y/N." She briefly touched your arm in a comforting gesture before she moved towards the door to find Sirius. As she was slipping out of the kitchen, George snuck in past her with a wide grin.